UMUR
"More Fun than an Open Casket Funeral!" is the second full-length studio album by US, Seattle based crossover thrash metal act The Accüsed. The album was released through Combat Records in 1987. The Accüsed was formed in 1980 and released a couple of demos before releasing the "Martha Splatterhead" EP in 1985. The debut album "The Return of... Martha Splatterhead" followed in 1986. "More Fun than an Open Casket Funeral!" is a self-produced effort, recorded during Valentines day 1987 at Michael Lord Productions.
A one day recording session is fully in keeping with The Accüsed´s DIY hardcore roots, and the material is as raw, gritty, and unpolished as expected. While still heavily rooted in hardcore punk, The Accüsed have become more metallic on "More Fun than an Open Casket Funeral!", and the label crossover thrash metal applies here, better than it did on the preceding releases. Most tracks are short and raw, fast-paced bursts of filth and aggression, but The Accüsed do incorporate heavy mid-paced sections too. An example of that is one of the album highlights in "Rape (Not a Love Song)".
While the production values are slightly better than on the extremely raw garage sounding debut album, it´s only details which separate the two and "More Fun than an Open Casket Funeral!" is definitely also in the more raw end of the production spectrum. This is a warts and all type of release and although the band can play their instruments, and it all sounds very organic and loose, it also sounds a bit detuned and sloppy.
So "More Fun than an Open Casket Funeral!" functions because it´s a charmingly raw and authentic release, delivered by an honest and passionate band. The Accüsed get much out of little and while I wouldn´t exactly call "More Fun than an Open Casket Funeral!" a masterpiece, there are enough interesting elements here to warrant a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating.